Sheridan students get Ferris thank you

Students in the leadership class at Ferris High School made a visit to sixth-graders at Sheridan Elementary School last week as a thank you for helping them raise money for a charity that aids injured Marines and sailors.

The high schoolers had been raising money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund since the school’s Veterans Day assembly. The class set a goal of raising $5,000 in time for the annual Rubber Chicken game, approached Ferris’ feeder schools and raised money within their own school.

The sixth-grade classes at Sheridan raised $1,004 – more than any other group who donated – by asking their parents for money, approaching businesses for matching funds, or just donating money from their own savings accounts.

“You guys helped out so much,” said Emily Andrews, the associated student body president and a leadership class student from the high school. “You guys did a great job and we want to thank you.”

Lori Houck, the assistant secretary at Sheridan, said that it meant a lot to the students to raise the money, since Cpl. Darrel Morris, a Ferris High School graduate and U.S. Marine, attended Sheridan and had come back to speak to the students.

Morris was killed in Iraq last January.

“Sheridan was amazing,” said Kim Byxbee, a leadership student at Ferris who headed up the fundraiser.

Along with raising the money for the charity, the students at Sheridan also got a chance to see a Rubber Chicken game. A busload of sixth-graders in their Sheridan Tiger sweat shirts helped carry a “Chain of Hope” into the gym to symbolize how much money was raised, with each paper link representing $1.

Jennifer Walther, the teacher of the leadership class, estimated that the chain went around the Arena gym floor four times.

The Ferris students brought along a banner that screamed, “Sheridan Rocks! Thank You!” along with small megaphones sporting the Ferris High School crest.

Three Saxon cheerleaders led the students in cheers before everyone gathered into groups to talk about what high school is like.

“Can you bring your iPods and cell phones?” one student asked. “Are the school lunches better there?” asked another.

All in all, the leadership class – which works to promote school spirit, organizes food drives, makes posters and props for different school events and more – raised $5,445 for the charity.

Sheridan’s contribution was almost one-fifth of the total.

“We just really want to thank them for all their help,” Byxbee said.